Overview

The IOC Wildcard E-Form Extension provides the following features to extend the usefulness of wildcards within sunapsis:

• Allows wildcards to be used in information only fields  to generate dynamic content for the client or approver
• Allows wildcards to be used in a field’s default value setting to dynamically prepopulate the field value before the e-form is loaded for the client or approver
• Provides Hide Unpopulated Wildcard Codes, Hide Field, and Read-Only Field modifiers to alter how fields are displayed to the client or approver.

Advantages include:

• Data from the client’s record can be easily displayed within the e-form content without the need for a specialized e-form extension.
  
• The second approver experience can be improved by including client field values directly in the second approver e-form fields.
  • Client field values can be presented in a friendlier format than what’s provided by the stock client e-form record view link.
  • Second approver fields can be prefilled with client field values giving the second approver a chance to make changes and avoiding copy/pasting.
    
    

    

• E-forms can be made more dynamic through the use of conditional fields that are driven by wildcard values. This is particularly useful when an e-form is shared between multiple student types (Ex. Undergraduates and Graduates) and you would like the e-form content to be specific to each type without creating multiple e-forms.
• Hidden client fields can be populated using wildcards providing a more flexible option to Appended Fields.

  *Before You Begin:

Please be aware of the following behaviors when using wildcards in E-forms.

• When using wildcards to insert values into an information only field the values inserted by the wildcards will be visible to the client but the values will not be saved in the field when the client submits the E-Form. Because information fields are not saved when the E-Form is submitted it’s not possible to record the historical wildcard value for display when the client reviews the submitted E-form. When a client reviews their submitted E-Form information, instead of leaving the unpopulated wildcard codes in place or potentially confusing the client by showing them fresh wildcard values, the entire information field contents is hidden. Design your E-Forms with this behavior in mind. If you prefer that the information only content remain intact but shows blank values where the wildcards were, you may choose to use the Hide Unpopulated Wildcard Codes Modifier explained later.
• When you use wildcards to set the default value of a hidden or read-only field the value will be saved and appear to the person reviewing the E-Form as if the client entered the value themselves. Please make sure that the person reviewing the submitted E-Form understands which fields have been populated automatically with a wildcard vs those that were actually entered or modified by the client. When possible, label the fields accordingly (Ex. Auto-populated City of Birth) to avoid any confusion. 
• The IOC Wildcard E-Form Extension has not been tested with the Sunapsis mobile app. We expect that wildcards themselves will work but the Hide Unpopulated Wildcard Codes, Hide Field and Read-Only Field modifiers may not be compatible with the mobile experience. Please test your E-Forms extensively if your institution employs the mobile app.
• While hidden field and read-only field values are not editable directly in the client’s browser window it is technically possible for an advanced user to modify the values before the E-Form is submitted. Do not rely on hidden field or read-only field values to store sensitive or critical information.

Wildcard Replacement

The wildcard replacement function is the primary purpose of the IOC Wildcard E-Form Extension. The wildcard replacement process finds any wildcard codes in the E-Form’s information only fields or field default values that fit the wildcard pattern (Ex. %ioc_clientusphone%) and it replaces them with the values they correspond to. 

• All wildcards must start and end with a single percent sign %. 
• All wildcards listed in the IOC Wildcard views and the stock sunapsis wildcard views are supported
• The Substitute function is supported and operates the same as it does for emails and form letters
• Wildcards are replaced before any conditional field logic is applied so default values set by wildcards can be used to determine which conditional fields are visible.
• Wildcards are replaced only when the E-Form is loaded in the context of a client or second approver completing the E-Form
• Wildcards are NOT replaced when the client is reviewing an already submitted E-Form, however other modifications may be made to hide the wildcard codes.
• Wildcard values placed in information only fields are not saved when the form is submitted.

  Additional Functionality

Hide Unpopulated Wildcard Codes Modifier
By default, when a client views a submitted E-Form the IOC Wildcard E-Form Extension hides information only fields that contain wildcards. If you would prefer to instead show the information only content but hide the wildcard codes themselves, you can use the Hide Unpopulated Wildcard Codes Modifier. When configured, the client will see the original information only content but there will be blanks where the wildcards would have been when the E-Form was originally submitted. The Hide Unpopulated Wildcard Codes Modifier is configured by placing %HideUnpopulatedWildcardCodes% in the metadata of the information field you would like modified when the client views the submitted E-Form.

Hide Modifier

This modifier is designed to be used when a wildcard is configured to populate a field’s default value and you want to hide the field from the client or second approver so they don’t modify it or they aren’t confused by seeing its value. This is useful in cases where the field is being used to drive conditional fields or when the field is being used to record a wildcards value for internal use. The Hide Field Modifier is configured by by placing the code %HideField% in the metadata of the field you would like to hide from the client/approver.

Read-Only Modifier

This modifier is similar to the Hide Modifier but instead of hiding the field it simply marks the field as Read-Only in the client or second approver’s browser so they are unable to easily alter the field’s value. This behavior is useful when the field drives other conditional fields or stores a value and you would like the client/approver to see the value but not modify it. The Read-Only Modifier is configured by by placing the code %ReadOnlyField% in the metadata of the field you would like to make read-only.